Petroleum, natural gas and coal

Undoubtedly, the industrialized countries are already facing a major and even
existential problem: that of the transition from societies based on the
massive use of fossil fuels to societies that have learned to do without them.
This will, of necessity, be the real driver of the energy transition that we
are talking about so much now! Because it is the future availability of fossil
fuels that will give the tempo of this transition, and not the development of
other sources of energy, so difficult is the way that remains to be done to
these to replace them! This book aims to provide non-specialists, and those
who are concerned by energy transition and climate protection, basic knowledge
to better understand the nature of fossil fuels and their importance in the
economies of the industrialized countries. The book also explains why their
future availability will play a vital role in the future economic and social
transformations in these countries. It consists of two parts that can be read
in a largely independent way: – The first part aims to present the variety of
fossil fuels and the physicochemical principles ruling their formation and
that of their deposits in the earth’s crust. – The second part is a discussion
on major current issues: What are the remaining fossil fuel reserves? When
precisely during this century can we predict the decline of their productions?
What consequences will this decline have for industrial societies? What is and
what will be their role in climate change? What risks does their use entail
for public health?